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It’s probably a good time to share a little
information and history of the church that has so
recently made such a difference in our lives.
The name is Open Door Baptist Church and it was
founded by a relatively young pastor by the name of
Bruce Stewart who was only a few years out of Bible
College. He actually began his ministry in
Pennsylvania but was soon led by the Holy Spirit to
move to Lake County Florida to plant a new church.
So in 1982 he along with his wife Wanda and their
four month old daughter, Leah, headed south.
It wasn’t long thereafter that they held their first
tent meeting in Clermont and decided that this was
the place God wanted them to be. Since that time,
the church has expanded greatly from the first
eleven individuals who had their first meeting in
the living room of a close friends home. Today the
church consists of a main sanctuary which holds up
to 250 people, a Sunday school building and a
prophet’s chamber for visiting pastors/missionaries.
The church is located on twenty-two acres right on
US Highway 27, a main artery through Clermont.
You’re right when you say this is a relatively small
church, but it’s a church packed with some very
friendly people and more importantly, the Holy
Spirit is definitely working in the lives of
everyone there. We noticed the differences
immediately upon walking in the doors the very first
time we attended. The preaching was something we had
not heard for years, probably since we had attended
a Billy Graham crusade in the mid 80’s. It was
straight forward, directly from the bible, and you
could tell the man behind the podium taught with a
passion and loved the Lord.
The second thing we noticed was that the children
were all nicely dressed and so well mannered. There
was no crying out during the service and those who
were old enough to talk with you always used the
words “Yes Sir” and “No Sir”, and were very
respectful, something else we had not seen in a
very, very long time.
I guess it’s only fair to say we fell in love with
the church immediately. From the very first day, a
peace had finally come over my wife and me and we
knew immediately this was the place God wanted us to
serve.
So why are they so different?
Well, the main reason is that they are an
Independent Baptist Church, meaning they work
autonomously as taught by Jesus’ disciples. They
don’t take direction from some large convention
where you find all kinds of give and take going on
to try to please everyone. The church seeks to
please God and God only!
The fact that they are a New Testament Church that
believes the bible as the infallible Word of God
also is very important. Once you start questioning
the Word of God as to whether or not it is true or
having error, you open the doors for Satan to enter.
For instance, some versions of the bible today not
only question, but leave out any reference to the
God Head or to the virgin birth. Once this occurs,
you know you have headed down the wrong path. If
Jesus wasn’t God in the flesh and if he did not come
into this world without sin, how could he possibly
die on the cross for our atonement? It required a
perfect sacrifice to erase our sin and only God in
the form of man could achieve such.
Along with this being said, the church believes that
the King James Version of the bible is the inspired
Word of God. Not the NIV, the Darby Version or the
English Standard Version. Only the King James
Version can be relied on as being without error. All
other versions have been corrupted over time
starting with the influence of the Roman Catholic
Church in the 3rd and 4th centuries. If you don’t
agree with this, we would strongly suggest you study
as much history of the bible as possible. It should
become evident, but if not, feel free to contact us.
Next, the church practices what it preaches. Men are
the leader of the household and God is always put
first followed by the wife, children and finally
their personal lives such as work, play, etc. For
this reason, the families are committed to Christ’s
church. In doing so, they try to raise their
children God’s way, teaching them constantly from
God’s word and exhorting them as God does His own
children.
We use to think that this was great for some, but
not for everyone. My wife’s brother and wife have
raised their children this way since they were very
young and we use to say, just wait until they get
out in the real world. But you know what? We were
being very foolish in the sight of God. God expects
us to raise our children this way and not to allow
them to control us. What an advantage a child would
have in life by being raised per the Word of God,
directed in His path and His ways!
We have children as young as 5 years old in the
church learning God’s word. They take part in bible
quizzes around the country and often place among the
top of their peers. They learn to study His word,
how to pray, how to conduct themselves in all
aspects of life. Most are home schooled simply
because our country has taken God out of our
schools. It’s a shame, but its fact, our country is
slowly but surely turning away from God and teaching
our children the ways of the world. Just think of
the impact this would have if all children were
raised in the way of the Lord!
Another thing this church is highly involved in is
evangelism. From its very beginning they began to
take on missionaries with like beliefs who were
looking to serve our Lord around the world. Today we
have over 70 missionaries that are supported through
the church and once a year the church tries to bring
a number of them to Florida to share their needs and
experiences with us. What a blessing!
I guess we could go on and on regarding the church
but it’s not necessary. There are many other like
churches out there across American and those who are
blessed enough to be close to one know what we are
talking about. There’s also colleges such as
Pensacola Christian College in north Florida which
were founded and thrive today on the same
principles. These universities turn out young men
and women each year trained in the ministry, as
doctors, engineers, teachers and just about any
other discipline that you can think of.
If you have never attended such a church, we would
highly suggest you check out what may be in you
area. And if you are in our area, or just want to
listen to some great weekly messages (yes we still
do meet 3 times a week) check out the churches
website by clicking on the church name below. You
will not be sorry you did…
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